Procedures for establishing a foreign-owned ship agency company

1. General provisions

According to the law, Ship agent refers to a kind of service related to the ship operating at ports which the person acting on behalf of the ship owner as an agent or the operator of the ship performs, including undertaking procedures for the ship’s entering and leaving the port; signing the contract for carriage, marine insurance contract, goods loading or unloading contract, charter-party, contract for employment of seafarers; signing and issuing bills of lading or equivalent transport documents; furnishing the ship with materials, fuel, food supplies, potable water; filing a sea protest; keeping in contact with the ship owner or operator; performing seafarer-related services; collecting and spending sums relating to ship operating activities; resolving any dispute regarding the contract for carriage or marine accidents as well as rendering other ship-related service.

According to the 2015 Vietnam Maritime Code and related guiding Decrees, in case a foreign investor invests in establishing a shipping agency service business company in Vietnam, the foreign investor's capital contribution ratio shall not exceed 49% of the company's charter capital.

Conditions on organizational structure and human resources:

• Have a person in charge of conducting business and exploiting shipping agency services who has graduated from college or higher in one of the following majors: maritime, foreign trade, commerce or economics;
• Have a specialist in performing legal work who has graduated from college or higher in the field of law;
• Shipping agent staff must be Vietnamese citizens, have been granted a professional certificate on shipping agency by a competent agency or organization according to regulations of the Minister of Transport.

2. Procedures for establishing a foreign-invested shipping agency company

To invest in the field of shipping agency business in Vietnam, foreign investors need to carry out the following procedures:

For the establishment of foreign-invested shipping agency companies in Vietnam:

Step 1: Apply for Investment Registration Certificate

Step 2: Apply for a Enterprise Registration Certificate

For capital contribution, purchase of shares, capital contribution at Vietnamese shipping agency company:

Step 1: Foreign investors register to contribute capital, purchase shares, or capital contributions to economic organizations

Step 2: Carry out procedures for transferring shares, capital contributions and changing shareholders and members.